Course

The time trial course begins at Stark Mountain Bike Works at the corner of Routes 17 and 100 and rises 1600 vertical feet over 6.2 miles to finish at the intersection of the Long Trail at the summit of the Appalachian Gap.

The road, originally named the McCullough Turnpike when built in the 1950s, is currently the highest paved road in Vermont kept open year-round, topping out at 2,356 feet. The road wasn’t constructed using the high-tech survey methods available today; instead, the bed was laid out following the natural contours of the terrain. With an average pitch of roughly 10 percent over the last 2½ miles, the climb is steeper (if shorter) than most climbs in the Tour de France. But steepness alone isn’t everything. The numerous changes in pitch and direction are really what make the App Gap climb a challenging and exhilarating ride, both physically and mentally.